Congrats to Harvey Walls, winner of the July art contest!

The prompt for this one was INDEPENDENT, which is a really tough concept to nail! But y'all were apparently up to the task 😀 Thanks to everyone who put themselves out there and entered! Especially during these dog days of summer.

Harvey's entry really captures the spirit of independence. This little penguin is determined to fly, despite what the other birds might say. Plus, the execution is on fleek.

Per Lee White, who judged the contest: "This image seemed so perfect to me. The composition and color are great. It's an immediate read and everything is handled well. The details of the snow coming off him is great. Then I saw the belt and that is such a thoughtful detail. Great work Harvey!"

This time around Lee picked TWO 2nd place runner ups! He just couldn't decide between images by Marko Mancic and Eric Castleman. Here's Lee again: "Marco's image was so cool and unique. The color balance was awesome and I really loved the editorial feel of it. Apparently I love penguins and Eric's was really amazing. The technique was flawless and I loved it. I see a whole picture book story here Eric. I wanna know what happens to that penguin?!!!"

Lee picked 7 honorable mentions as well, check out all the great images below 😀 You can also view ALL the entries on the SVS Forum.

Thanks everyone for taking part! Until next time 😀